Death by Jealousy (Caribbean Murder #6)

“It was his life or mine, and I was sick of putting his first. He found out someone was depositing weird cash in the company and pulling it out,” Tad proclaimed as the boat started bouncing up and down on the sea. “Peter was ready to blow open the lid. He’s stupid. He was going to tell his lousy father about the money. Then he’d watch like a hawk, close down accounts, no more loose cash for me.”


“No cash, no Vivien,” Cindy breathed. “You were going to lose her.”

“I couldn’t let Peter take her away from me,” Tad looked peaceful for a moment, almost beatific.

“You wanted your best friend dead,” Cindy repeated, “but he’s still alive.”

“We messed up,” Tad’s voice grew sullen, “but next time no one will make a mistake. Peter has to die.

Cindy was horrified. “Did Peter’s father find about the accounts?”

“Not yet!” yelled Tad, “but he was about to find out, thanks to Mattheus. Peter’s so wiped out by Allie’s death, it all took a back seat for him now. Then you had Mattheus barge in and call Peter on it. Peter told me. I just told Edward that Peter could be in trouble financially and it was a good idea to get rid of you and Mattheus fast. He agreed. I never told him why or what happened.”

“And you never told him you tried to kill his son!” Cindy’s voice rose like a wave of brimstone splashing at him now.

“Peter will die in a freak accident,” Tad called out into the night. “He won’t suffer. It’s gonna happen fast. In the long run it’s gonna be better for everyone for Peter to be dead. Lots of people live off the company. Peter would have taken us all down! For what? Nothing! For a little cash that goes in one door and out the next - and brings people pleasure and happiness. Were we supposed to sacrifice all that for Peter?”

“What’s going to happen when Edward finds out that you tried to kill his son?” Cindy felt as though she and Tad were surfing wild waves next to each other.

“He’ll never find out,” Peter called out. “You’re gonna be dead and gone way before that.”

“When I go missing, they’ll search further,” Cindy closed in on him. “Vivien’s paranoid and she’ll get scared. She’ll say something to Mac or Edward. She’ll turn on you if she’s in trouble. You can’t buy love and loyalty just with cash and jewels.”

“Oh no, try me and see,” Tad laughed as the boat started slowing down. “What the hell’s the matter?” Tad called out then, “Keep moving.”

“It’s stalling,” a voice in front answered.

“Rev it up. Rev it up. We can’t dump her here. Her body will wash up. I want her out further, miles from shore. Hurry. Time’s running out.”

Cindy began shivering uncontrollably as a sharp light flashed at them from the dark seas.

“Jesus, what’s that?” Tad looked shaken.

A cluster of boats drove up fast, surrounding the boat.

A loud voice in a megaphone called out, “Coast Guard. Stop. We’re coming on board.”

Tad grabbed Cindy, shoved her in front of him and ran to the edge of the boat.

“You come on board and she’d dead!” Tad hollered back.

The wild wind blew fiercely over them as Cindy and Tad stood glued together, barely balancing.

Cindy heard a splash in the water then, as if someone had jumped in. She wondered if it were Jared, trying to swim to safety.

“You tell them to let me go or I’m taking you out,” Tad whispered in Cindy’s ear. “Tell them you came onboard of your own free will.” He pressed her ribs harder against him.

“I came on of my own free will,” Cindy proclaimed loudly, into the night.

As the boats from the Coast Guard got closer, Cindy saw Vivien standing next to the officer with the megaphone.

“Let her go, Tad. It’s not her fault,” Vivien’s voice echoed through the megaphone, over the waves. “I told them about the money laundering and smuggling. There’s nothing left to hide.”

Cindy twisted in Tad’s arms as Jared come up beside them.

“It was a mistake!” Jared called out loudly. “A horrible, horrible misunderstanding. Give us a chance. Let us explain!”

At that moment, Cindy heard an intense rustle behind them as if a wild animal had jumped onto the boat.

“Put her down, or I’ll shoot you dead,” someone growled. “You’ll go down under, like you sent Allie.”

They all spun around. Mattheus, soaking wet, had a gun pointed at Tad and Jared. He’d obviously jumped into the water from the Coast Guard boat, swam up to them and climbed on board.

“Put her down or you’ll never get out of here alive,” Mattheus was breathing heavily.

Tad slowly loosened his grip.

“You’re the one who killed Allie, aren’t you?” Mattheus voice trembled as he spoke to Tad.

“It was Peter he was after, not Allie,” Cindy called back. “Before long, Peter was going to turn up dead, too!”

Mattheus’s jaw was working intensely. “Going to kill your own best friend?” he demanded, as he advanced on Tad, and officers suddenly swarmed up onto the boat.

Trembling, Tad let Cindy go. “But I didn’t kill Peter, he’s still alive,” he mumbled.